China Economy Forum

[Martian2]

Taiwan cancer drug gets OK for US clinical trials | Taiwan Today

"Taiwan cancer drug gets OK for US clinical trials
Publication Date：03/26/2014
Source： Taiwan Today

TMU and NTUCM researchers are pleased with the news that anti-cancer drug MPT0E028 has been approved by the U.S. FDA for human clinical trials. (Courtesy of TMU)

A Taiwan-developed anti-cancer drug was recently greenlighted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for phase one human clinical trials, according to the ROC Ministry of Science and Technology March 25.

MPT0E028, a potent histone deacetylase inhibitor, has shown promising results in treatment of cancer as demonstrated in Taiwan tests involving 60 different human tumor cell lines.

The drug was developed by researchers from National Taiwan University College of Medicine and Taipei Medical University, with funding from the MOST and Formosa Pharmaceuticals under the National Research Program for Biopharmaceuticals.

According to the researchers, MPT0E028 is especially effective in suppressing tumor growth in the treatment of colorectal, hepatic, lung and pancreatic cancers, as well as leukemia and lymphoma, with animal test subjects exhibiting no significant side effects.

The drug is set to assist global efforts in combating cancer by furthering the development of targeted cancer therapies, which have gradually replaced the traditional chemotherapy, the researchers added.

TMU’s Liou Jing-ping, a leader of the research team, said the drug is being reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration under the ROC Ministry of Health and Welfare. It is expected that phase one of clinical trials will kick off in Taiwan in the second half of the year, he added.

The first homegrown anti-cancer drug developed by Taiwan’s tertiary institutions to win FDA approval for clinical trials in humans, MPT0E028 holds patents in Taiwan and has approvals pending in 19 countries and territories, including Australia, the EU, New Zealand and Russia.

MPT0E028’s Taiwan test results were published in prestigious international medical journals such as Cell Death and Disease and Clinical Cancer Research, respectively, in late 2013 and earlier this year.

MOHW data shows that cancer is Taiwan’s No. 1 cause of death since 1982, and according to the World Health Organization, the number of people with cancers worldwide is expected to increase 57% over the next two decades. (YHC-JSM)"

 

[cirr]

First CAP1400 reactor under construction

04 April 2014

by World Nuclear News

The pouring of concrete for the basemat of Shidaowan 1, the first of two demonstration CAP1400 units in China's Shandong province, was recently completed. The design is a scaled up version of Westinghouse's AP1000 and could potentially be exported.

Construction of the first Shidaowan CAP1400 is underway (Image: CNEC)

Plant constructor China Nuclear Engineering Corporation (CNEC) announced that the pouring of first concrete, marking the official start of construction of Shidaowan 1, began on 28 March and took 20 hours to complete. Work on the reactor building will now begin. The CAP1400 is an enlarged version of the AP1000 pressurized water reactor developed from the Westinghouse original by State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation (SNPTC) with consulting input from the American company.

Two demonstration CAP1400 units being built at Huaneng Group's Shidaowan site in Shandong province. About 80% of components for the first two CAP1400s will be made in China. The Shidaowan site is part of the larger Rongcheng Nuclear Power Industrial Park, at which the prototype HTR-PM small modular reactor is already under construction. Another 19 of the 210 MWe units could follow. Huaneng is China's largest power generation company. The reactors at Shidaowan will be its first nuclear generation assets. China's current fleet of nuclear power plants are operated by either China National Nuclear Corporation or China General Nuclear Power Corporation.

As one of China's 16 strategic projects under its National Science and Technology Development Plan, the CAP1400 is intended to be deployed in large numbers across the country. SNPTC will have 'independent intellectual property rights' over the design, paving the way for exports to other countries.

 

[Martian2]

My comment on Bloomberg.

Ford Close to Passing Nissan, Hyundai in China After Sales Surge | Bloomberg

 

[cirr]

Chinese phone maker Xiaomi raked in $242 million in 12 hours during its day-long sales blitz

• April 9, 2014
• at 9:56 am
• by Josh Horwitz

By now, most followers of Chinese phone maker Xiaomi are familiar with its weekly flash sales. Yesterday, however, the company held what might have been its flashiest ever flash sale – it doled out 1,300,000 phones in a twelve-hour period, helping it rake in sales revenues of about US$ 242 million, according to its Facebook and Weibo pages.

As part of the “Mi Fan Festival,” Xiaomi offered up pre-designated quantities of its Mi3, Redmi (see our review here), and Redmi Note devices for customers in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and mainland China. Starting at 10AM, the company offered up batches of its phones in two hour intervals, along with a wide range of discounted peripherals like earbuds and batteries. The sales blitz ended at either 8PM or 10PM depending on the region.

Breaking it down

For Taiwan, Xiaomi reported receiving NT$ 430 million (about US$ 14 million) in total sales revenues (that includes accessories), while clearing over 73,000 of its allotted 80,000 mobile devices (20,000 flagship Mi3 phones and 60,000 mid-range Redmis).

Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, the company brought in HK$ 66 million (about $8.5 million) in total sales revenues, and cleared over 49,000 of its allotted 50,000 mobile devices (10,000 Mi3s and 40,000 Redmis).

In Singapore, Xiaomi’s most recent destination, the company raked in S$ 2.28 million in total orders (about US$ 1.9 million). The company hasn’t revealed how many of its allotted 13,000 phones it sold, but it claims to have booked over 11,000 “orders” (including peripheral devices), and processed a record 16 orders per minute.

That leaves us with mainland China. There, the company unsurprisingly brought in the majority of its revenues from the sales period, clocking in at approximately RMB 1.4 billion (about US$ 225 million – yes, we’re going to have to take those “abouts” seriously here). There, over 600,000 Redmis, 600,000 Redmi Notes, and 400,000 Mi3s were put up for sale, and while we can’t seem to dig up any statistics that confirm whether or not these batches sold out…. we think you get the point.

(See: Founder Lei Jun Talks About Xiaomi, China’s Disruptive Phone-Maker [INTERVIEW])

Taking it with a grain of rice

As much as we like to report on the company’s earth-shattering sales feats, we also like emphasize that one ought not to assess its health and prospects solely based on its sexy promotions. The company sells its phones (and phablets, now) at near-cost, and hasn’t yet ‘monetized’ as a company – hence its widely-touted ‘internet model’ of business, wherein it courts an audience first and then brings in profits later. While Xiaomi’s proven it can get its phones into users’ hands, it’s not yet clear how the company will earn money after that. Its recent investment in Chinese video streaming firm Xunlei hints that its future might lie in media.

(See: Xiaomi rips off a Kickstarter project to give your smartphone an extra, configurable button)

On the other hand, if you’re one for the horse races, consider this: In 12 hours, Xiaomi brought in revenues of $242 million – that’s about one-fifth of HTC’s revenues for its most recent quarter.

Xiaomi’s agenda for 2014 include launches in Malaysia and India, where it hopes to broaden its customer base in an effort to surpass the 60 million mark for devices sold.

Chinese phone maker Xiaomi raked in $242 million in 12 hours

 

[shuttler]

GM is even better
It is now promoting its Cadillac on the Mainland after the success of Buick

What a shame!

 

[bolo]

GM is even better
It is now promoting its Cadillac on the Mainland after the success of Buick

What a shame!

Shame on who? Domestic Chinese cars?

 

[cirr]

Rumor: The Xiaomi Mi3S Will Feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 Processor

Tony Simons | April 4, 2014 | Reply



Rumors are circulating about Chinese smartphone maker, Xiaomi, and its upcoming Mi3S smartphone, especially in regards to its processor. Word has it that the follow-up to the Mi3 — currently touted by Xiaomi as being its fastest phone ever — will come rocking a Snapdragon 801 chipset. If true, there will be more than enough computing power in the Mi3S to run even the most graphic-intense mobile games on the Google Play Store.

In addition to a faster processor, the Mi3S is also said to have 3GB of RAM, a 13-megapixel rear camera, an impressive 8-megapixel front-facing camera (though this sounds like a bit of a longshot — the Mi3’s front-facer is only 2-megapixel), 16GB of internal storage, and 4G LTE (FDD-LTE and TD-LTE) connectivity. The added network support would come as a welcome addition, as the Mi3 does not offer LTE compatibility.

No word has leaked on-screen size or display, but we can only imagine it will be a step up from the Mi3’s brilliant 5-inch 1080 x 1920 IPS LCD display. It’s probably also safe to assume the phone will come running Android 4.4 KitKat. The rumored pricing point for the Xiaomi Mi3S is 1999 Yuan (US $321.61). There’s also no word on if we will see the Mi3 in markets outside of China. Obviously, these are questions that we will have to wait to have answered at the official announcement, whenever that may be.

The device is expected to be unveiled this month during the upcoming Xaomi Fans Festival, which focuses on consumer products. The festival is held annually on April 9th, and it is also believed that we’ll see the Hongmi 2 at the event. The Hongmi 2 is rumored to come in two flavors: an eight-core model with 3G connectivity and a quad-core version with 4G connectivity.

We will certainly be keeping our eyes on this story to see how it unfolds, but until then we would like to know how you feel about the relatively new company, Xiaomi. Are you looking forward to the release of the Mi3S? Is there anything you didn’t see mentioned in the rumored specs list that you would like to see in the Mi3S? Don’t be shy! Drop us a comment in the thread below.

Rumor: The Xiaomi Mi3S Will Feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 Processor | Androidheadlines.com

 

[Edison Chen]

Xiaomi will make electric vehicles in 2015.

 

[cirr]

Rumor: The Xiaomi Mi3S Will Feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 Processor

Tony Simons | April 4, 2014 | Reply



Rumors are circulating about Chinese smartphone maker, Xiaomi, and its upcoming Mi3S smartphone, especially in regards to its processor. Word has it that the follow-up to the Mi3 — currently touted by Xiaomi as being its fastest phone ever — will come rocking a Snapdragon 801 chipset. If true, there will be more than enough computing power in the Mi3S to run even the most graphic-intense mobile games on the Google Play Store.

In addition to a faster processor, the Mi3S is also said to have 3GB of RAM, a 13-megapixel rear camera, an impressive 8-megapixel front-facing camera (though this sounds like a bit of a longshot — the Mi3’s front-facer is only 2-megapixel), 16GB of internal storage, and 4G LTE (FDD-LTE and TD-LTE) connectivity. The added network support would come as a welcome addition, as the Mi3 does not offer LTE compatibility.

No word has leaked on-screen size or display, but we can only imagine it will be a step up from the Mi3’s brilliant 5-inch 1080 x 1920 IPS LCD display. It’s probably also safe to assume the phone will come running Android 4.4 KitKat. The rumored pricing point for the Xiaomi Mi3S is 1999 Yuan (US $321.61). There’s also no word on if we will see the Mi3 in markets outside of China. Obviously, these are questions that we will have to wait to have answered at the official announcement, whenever that may be.

The device is expected to be unveiled this month during the upcoming Xaomi Fans Festival, which focuses on consumer products. The festival is held annually on April 9th, and it is also believed that we’ll see the Hongmi 2 at the event. The Hongmi 2 is rumored to come in two flavors: an eight-core model with 3G connectivity and a quad-core version with 4G connectivity.

We will certainly be keeping our eyes on this story to see how it unfolds, but until then we would like to know how you feel about the relatively new company, Xiaomi. Are you looking forward to the release of the Mi3S? Is there anything you didn’t see mentioned in the rumored specs list that you would like to see in the Mi3S? Don’t be shy! Drop us a comment in the thread below.

Rumor: The Xiaomi Mi3S Will Feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 Processor | Androidheadlines.com

 

[Edison Chen]

I hope Xiaomi's electric vehicles will bring surprise to us.

 

[IndoUS]

People do realize that Japan has an advanced and well matured car industry like Honda and Toyota, who are home companies.

 

[shuttler]

Shame on who? Domestic Chinese cars?

yes in general we are losing market share to foreign brands as a whole

 

[visom]

Honda and Toyota are consistently more reliable than any American cars, plus having to import cars already makes it more expensive, there's no real reason for Japan to buy American cars in that situation.

 

[cirr]

The China-US economies are very much entwined。

The China-US economies are very much entwined。

 

[Edison Chen]

February 2014 top car selling list in China. Germany car stomped others. Only one Japanese car maker in top 10, but only 9th.